


To give No Quarter

by thefloydianrainbow



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Angst, Daddy Issues, Dark Katara (Avatar), Other, Protective Katara (Avatar), Revenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:01:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26421547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefloydianrainbow/pseuds/thefloydianrainbow
Summary: After fleeing Ba Sing Se after a near-fatal defeat at the hands of Azula and Zuko; Katara is ready to ditch her passiveness in favor of a more war-crimes heavy fighting tactic.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 7





	To give No Quarter

Exhausted and bloodied after the assault from Princess Azula and Prince in turmoil Zuko in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se; team Avatar slipped into the inky shadows of the lunar sky above the former Earth Kingdom Stronghold. Flying above the outer ring of the city, Katara desperately tried to heal Aang’s critical wounds only to be interrupted when Appa would dive around both boulders and fireballs from the Dai Li and invading Fire Nation army. A thunderous roar came from the outer wall collapsing, a sound signaling that hope and security for thousands of people had vanished. Team Avatar could do nothing but flee and hide their anguish, fighting back their anger and shame. The only solace to be had was the fact that Katara still had the water from the Spirit Oasis from the Northern Water Tribe, which after a few tense minutes successfully brought Aang back, albeit still not out of the woods. 

Appa flew well into the night and the following day. He flew further than he had ever before. The group retreated further south from the Earth Kingdom borders to seek refuge out of the enemy’s grasp. The sun rose an eerie red morning sky. Katara remained motionless throughout the night, holding Aang close. Sokka and Toph fast asleep, her leaning into him for security for the long flight. Below the group, periodic blackened dots outlined the landscape below where towns and villages once stood between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom Capital. 

Midday arrives. Many hours since walking on terrafirma. Toph still holding on to Sokka as he looked for a safe refuge. Katara now finally resting with Aang still in her arms, never having been let go. Appa struggled to keep awake, beginning to gently descend following the winding shoreline. It was then Sokka shouted when he spotted in the distance several Southern Water tribe ships just west offshore of Chameleon Bay where he had just been with his father Hakoda and Bato. It was the first time that everyone since leaving the besieged Earth Kingdom Capital could exhale. 

Bato and Hakoda emerged from their tent upon hearing the group arrive. Hakoda ran up and helped take Aang from Appa, carrying him inside. Sokka ran up to his father and embraced him in a great big hug after only being gone a few short weeks. Katara however – though not having seen her dad for years – ignored her father in favor of walking to accompany Aang, who lied on pelts of animal fur next to the fire. Soon, after Toph brushed the sand off of herself from making sand angels in glee after flying for so long, Toph and Sokka sat with Hakoda and Bato around the fire telling their stories. Katara remained silent, staring through the fire, still brushing off her father’s attempts to engage in conversation. 

It was the rustling of maps and crosstalk of strategy that lured Katara away from her inner demons temporarily, as she walked over to the rest of the group who were feverishly planning their next moves. It would not be long before the Fire Nation Navy would spot the Water Tribe boats while on their way to bolster the siege of Ba Sing Se. It was critical to keep Aang safe, and to Sokka’s point, unseen. They needed to move, now. 

Hastily packing the essentials onto one of Water Tribe ships before carrying Aang abord; Katara and Toph join Hakoda and Bato on deck for the departure of the bay which offered limited protection in exchange for the open waters under the control of the Fire Navy. Seemingly counterintuitively, Sokka flew above looking for Fire Navy ships. If the team was able to take over a just one ship, it would mean more supplies and medicine for Aang, as well as the best disguise for sailing into the Fire Nation unsuspected and unharmed. The key was they needed to get a lone ship with no reinforcements nearby. 

Sure enough, it was not long until a fleet of three ships appeared on the horizon. Sokka flew lower along the water, before buzzing the wheelhouse of the flagship. Whether Sokka had planned on this working or not is debatable, but sure enough the flagship broke away from the other two ships to pursue him. Now dodging fireballs, Sokka began his retreat back toward the rest of the group and the Water Tribe ship. Once in range, Katara whipped up a large cloud of fog engulfing Sokka, and both ships respectively. The Water Tribe boat was more maneuverable than the Fire Navy ship, especially in zero visibility. Bato maneuvered their ship under the cover of the fog to flank the Fire Navy ship on its stern. 

Bato and Hakoda planned to take care of any soldiers on deck, Toph would metal bend her way below deck, while Katara fervently volunteered to head up to the bridge of the ship into the wheelhouse. Still unspotted, stealth was on their side as they boarded the Fire Navy ship. Stealth, however, was not on Katara’s agenda that afternoon. Pushing her passiveness aside, she looked to genuinely harm those who responsible for hurting Aang. She wanted to see the fear in their eyes, matching her own from earlier. Five floors clad in steel separate Katara from the helm of the ship. Though after everything she had been through over the last few hours, let alone the last few months, she had little concern going up against spearmen. 

On the forward deck of the warship, Hakoda and Bato were disarming and de-boarding the few straggling soldiers. Disappointed he had missed most of the action while taking care of Appa, Sokka ran up on deck to help defeat the remaining Fire Nation soldiers. Suddenly, he was hit by a wall of water and glass from shattering windows above him as Katara surged the ocean through the first two floors of the ships tower, washing every Fire Nation soldier, and almost her brother, off to sea. Katara ran to the third floor which held the navigation and engineering quarters, and many more fire benders than spearmen. Ducking out of the way of a fire blast, Katara kicked the soldier into the radiator. As six other soldiers rushed her, she filled the corridor with steam from the busted piping, then froze everything in contact. Frozen solid, the soldiers could do nothing watching Katara take a mechanics wrench to their legs, snapping them clean off. Their screams silenced by their ice-covered mouths, Katara floated them in the air and hurled them out the window, far into the sea. She figured they’d make a good treat for the sea creatures of the abyss. 

The fourth floor of the tower was eerily void of resistance. Katara slowly made her way up the stairs to the wheelhouse of the ship. She could hear the screams over the intercom from the engine room below deck as Toph had her way, crushing engineers and soldiers alike in metal tombs, popping them like zits. At the helm of the ship were several officers, the captain, and a soldier decked in heavy gilded armor. Preoccupied by the battle below on-deck, they failed to notice Katara sneak in and silently freeze one of the officers to the ceiling. After slamming the only entrance (and exit) to the wheelhouse shut, the several men turned to face Katara. The captain faced Katara:

“Who are you?!”  
“My name is Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, and your death!”

The captain and the few remaining officers’ dove behind the instrument consoles to avoid being hit by Katara’s water whip, which had broken off and was flinging a heavy gauge steel pipe like a baton. The heavily armored soldier threw as much fire as he could, forcing Katara to dive out of the way. Draperies and maps on the wall in flame, and using the smoke as cover, another officer crawled his way hoping to make it to the exit unseen. The creaking of the door being opened was enough to alert Katara, as she whipped the pipe and bludgeoned his head against the floor, killing him instantly. The captain and heavy solder were all who remained in the wheelhouse. Summoning the strength of the high-noon sun, the solder was hurling so much fire, it was exploding the windows and could be seen for miles. Once could mistake it for a signal flare. Running out of room and options, Katara summoned a large enough rogue wave to severely rock the ship, forcing the two men off-balance and to fall. As they both stood up from behind the counter, they were simultaneously struck by shards of ice right beneath their neck plates. They were hit with such force they were pinned to the wall, dead and bleeding profusely. 

Smoldering and covered in splats of blood, Katara removed her outer garb, turned around silently, and proceeded to head downstairs back to the deck which Hakoda, Bato, and Sokka had already cleared. Toph like clockwork burst through the metal deck, also joining the rest of the gang. Emotionless, Katara took Aang from Appa, walked past her father who offered assistance only to be denied, and went inside to put Aang to bed in a stateroom. Their next objective would be to run the Fire Nation blockade.


End file.
